As a civilian, it is very important to be able to identify a threat before you engage your target. The majority of civilian defensive conditions occur in low-light or night time settings, so having some sort of illumination device handy is important.
Night sights and lasers can both be great additions to a defensive sidearm. Night sights contain a small amount of a substance called Tritium in them, which glows in the dark. That allows you to obtain proper sight alignment, even in the dark. Another added side effect is that if you have them on your nightstand gun, you can use them as a reference point in the middle of the night to know where the pistol is, without the need to fumble around blindly. The main downside is cost, but usually for $100-150 you can get a set installed on your pistol, and they also make rifle front sight posts and shotgun beads with tritium. The other downside is that they don't last forever. Tritium has a relatively short half-life, and so the sights dim over time, and need replaced after 10 or 15 years or so.
Lasers can also have definite advantages for defensive use. They make a very visible aiming point on your target, and you don't really need to worry about sights. In target range practice, you should work on mastering aiming with sights before you rely on the laser, but, in at the average ranges in a defense scenario, a laser is a definite advantage. They also have their downsides. They are more expensive than night sights, and run off batteries, which can fail when you need them most (which is why you should know how to use your iron sights too). Also, due to the trajectory at which a bullet travels after it leaves the barrel, which is some variation of a parabolic arch, the laser is only truly on target at a set distance. Aside from that set distance, some sort of Kentucky windage is needed.
Now that I have covered some basics on those sighting aids, back to illumination sources. You have two main options, a weapon-mounted light (WML), or a handheld flashlight, both have advantages and disadvantages, which I will cover. I am not going to attempt to convey proper methods for using/holding flashlights in this post, that is something best covered in actual training.
The handheld flashlight is the simpler of the two. Some traits that you want to look for if you are going to buy a flashlight for defensive use are a momentary switch, something durable, with a long battery life. Surefire, Streamlight and Fenix all make suitable flashlights. You want something small and light enough to carry and conceal, but not so small that it isn't bright enough to use. For reference, I often carry a Surefire 6P LED, or a G2. I prefer flashlights with tail end on/off switches, I find them easier to manipulate properly. I like them to have a temporary on/off, and as well as a constant on/off capability. That way I can use light sparingly if needed, or leave it on without my hand cramping up from holding it too long. The main disadvantage of a handheld light is that you need to modify your grip on whatever firearm you are using, be it a handgun or a long-gun. It is also one more thing that you need to carry and control. But it can also serve as an improvised weapon in your off-hand, for using hammer-fist strikes or a similar technique at close range. Also, with the brightness of modern hand held flashlights, you can use them to temporarily blind/disorient the threat.
WML's seem to be more en vogue these days, sticking with the current "tacti-cool" craze in the firearms industry. The advantage to them is that they let you keep both hands on your firearm for a more solid grip, if they are set up properly, you don't even need to modify your grip. And it keeps everything contained in one package, there is nothing additional you need to grab. One downside is that if you mount a WML on a pistol, it adds bulk and weight onto the sidearm. If you are carrying the pistol concealed, that is a big consideration. Make sure that you function test your sidearm with the light on, it order to make sure that it operates properly with the different balance and weight distribution. You also need to get a specially made holster in order to fit the combo, because you aren't going to have time to put the light on the gun in a lethal situation. This adds cost, as well as makes concealment more difficult. For long-guns, WML's make more sense to me, mounted far forward to reduce barrel shadow, and in a position where I can either operate the tail switch with my forward hand, or with a pressure switch running back to where my hand normally is, or both. Pressure switches can be great, but they can fail, the wiring can go bad, and they have a higher likelihood of getting bumped accidentally when you don't want them to. However, either on a pistol or long-gun, you need to make sure you buy a quality light that is capable of absorbing repeated recoil without damaging the bulb and internals. This is especially true for a light you are going to mount on a gun with a high amount of recoil, like a 12 gauge shotgun.
But, the major difference between the two, and biggest disadvantage of the WML is this: you have to point your gun at something in order to illuminate it. If that thing is a threat, then that is okay. But if that thing isn't a threat, then it is a major issue to muzzle someone or something with a loaded firearm. A cardinal rule of gun safety is "don't point the gun at anything you aren't willing to destroy." And if you are searching into dark corners with a WML, you are almost certainly violating that rule. A handheld light can be used independently of the firearm, you can scan the whole area while keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction. You can illuminate an area in a non-threat scenario, without pulling out your sidearm. Or by using proper technique, you can use a handheld light to illuminate the area your muzzle is pointing.
I do believe that both systems can serve an important role, but you need to be cognizant of which one is proper for your situation. When I am out and about, I usually have some sort of handheld light on my person, and use it fairly often for simply illuminating something. But, at home, my defensive long-guns have WML's on them, which I have trained to use during my time in the Marines, but I also keep a handheld light handy, and which one I will use depends on the situation.
Being able to identify your target, and also being able to control your muzzle are both very important in a high stress threat situation. I think that having some sort of light source handy, at least during low-light or night time is a good idea, for more reasons than just defensive use. I hope this has been informative, as always, if anyone has questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. Shoot straight.
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